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Chapter 332 - Chapter 332: A Flash in Peril

When it doesn't involve catching criminals, Superman's super brain remains fully functional. This computer, capable of connecting to outer space without delay and enabling direct video conversations 24 hours a day, was something Superman built himself in just one minute.

Generally speaking, when it comes to making super weapons, Superman's super brain seems to go offline. But for everyday conveniences, he still puts his intellect to use.

Despite its high-tech appearance, the device was incredibly simple to operate. Lois pressed a few buttons, and soon, Superman's image appeared on the screen.

"Hey, baby, did you miss me again…? Ahem! Shin? Diana?! Why are you here?"

Lois's face turned red, while Shin and Diana struggled to hold back their laughter. Meanwhile, his mother Martha chuckled openly.

After a moment of awkward silence, Superman regained his composure. "Sorry, I'm in outer space right now, so communication is a bit difficult."

Of course, the Superman in the movies isn't as powerful as his comic counterpart. In the comics, outer space wouldn't block his vision at all. Even from the moon, he could see every single ant in Metropolis.

However, the movie version of Superman's super vision and super hearing can only cover about one state at most—not the entire United States. 

When he's in space, he has to rely on technology to stay connected.

Otherwise, Shin and Wonder Woman could have just stood outside his house and shouted "Superman!" and he'd appear in less than a second.

"Don't worry, we understand your situation. But Earth is being targeted by aliens again, so we came here to ask for your help," Shin explained, though he couldn't shake a strange feeling.

'Alas, when there were no superheroes, the Earth was peaceful. But ever since superheroes appeared, all kinds of monsters and demons have been crawling out of the woodwork…'

"Aliens invading Earth again? But I didn't detect anything from the Fortress of Solitude's lookout post," Superman said curiously.

Superman built the Fortress of Solitude to serve as a lookout point, allowing him to lie low while also monitoring for extraterrestrial threats.

To the average person, the chances of an alien invasion seem low, but for Superman, alien threats are the biggest concern. Of course, he has to remain vigilant.

"They teleported here directly," Shin explained.

In the comics, Apokolips exists in a higher dimension and its inhabitants travel using space teleportation. You can't find them even if you search the material universe.

Shin wasn't sure about the movie version's setting, but he didn't really care. He just treated them as another invading alien force.

"Teleportation?" Superman was clearly surprised and a little worried. "What's the current situation on Earth?"

"It's still early, and so far, they've only sent a small vanguard force. It's not a huge problem yet," Shin replied. "But things could escalate quickly, so we wanted to warn you in advance."

"Wait a moment. I'll be back right away," Superman said before abruptly cutting the transmission.

Less than a minute later, a streak of red light flashed across the sky, and Superman landed at the front door of his childhood home.

Yes, he was that fast. Superman might have left to lay low, but if he ever truly needed to return, it would take him less than a minute.

As for whether he actually spent his days in the Fortress of Solitude while secretly visiting his girlfriend at night—well, no one really knew. If he claimed to be in a space station, who could actually check?

The moment Superman arrived, before he could even sit down, Shin stretched out his hand and tossed out a demon-like corpse shrouded in dark energy.

Superman was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized it was an alien corpse and hurried forward to inspect it.

Even without any tools, his super vision allowed him to analyze the entire structure of the creature's body. After a quick scan, he frowned.

"Is this a cyborg?" he asked.

"They're more like enhanced cannon fodder soldiers," Wonder Woman explained before detailing the nature of Apokolips and its forces.

Hearing this, Superman couldn't help but sigh.

'I feel like Earth is constantly facing one crisis after another… there's never a moment's peace.'

Just then, the Den Den Mushi inside Shin's cloak rang.

The moment he opened the call, two small black ears popped out of the Den Den Mushi, and a deep voice spoke.

"Shin, something has happened to the Mother Box on Earth!"

"What?!" Shin's expression changed. "The cyborg named Victor Stone—has he been killed?"

Cyborg's origin story was indirectly tied to Superman. During Superman's battle with the Kryptonians, Victor was caught in the crossfire and lost half of his body. His father later rebuilt him using the power of the Mother Box, turning him into a cybernetic hero.

This transformation was an absolute accident—one that couldn't be replicated.

Otherwise, the remaining two Mother Boxes wouldn't be so difficult for the Atlanteans and Amazons to safeguard.

Forget the Amazons for a second—even the Atlanteans, who possess advanced technology, struggled to deal with them.

"The problem is worse than that… he seems to have been compromised," Batman's voice said grimly.

"Compromised?" Shin frowned.

In the comics, Cyborg has been taken over multiple times due to his direct connection to the Mother Box, but this hadn't really happened in the movies.

Moreover, Apokolips is so far from Earth that remote control shouldn't even be possible. If it were, Darkseid's forces would have launched an attack long ago.

'So the more likely scenario is… that an agent of Apokolips is already on Earth?'

Given the technological level of Apokolips, if one of their operatives had infiltrated Earth, hacking Cyborg wouldn't be difficult.

Even among the mostly brainless Parademons, some high-intelligence variants exist. Apokolips' usual strategy involves sending these demons to secretly transport the Mother Box and open Boom Tubes for an invasion. This suggests that Parademons are familiar enough with the Mother Box's technology to manipulate it.

"What's the current situation? Have you managed to contain Cyborg?" Shin asked.

A long silence followed. Then, in an awkward tone, Batman admitted, "No… Cyborg has access to the Justice League's database and information on most superheroes. He went after Flash first. Now, he's critically injured—with a broken leg."

Shin rolled his eyes.

'Yes, the Flash often serves as the sacrificial lamb in DC's stories.'

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